Devil's Stare
by Lilacskissgoodbye
Summary: DA. You will have to read to find out -- Rated R for later chapters.
1. Dancing with the Devil

His eyes were so cryptic, enthralling. She could feel that it was merely some mind-trick, some illusion, but she did not want it to end. It felt so good to be twirled around on that dance floor, forgetting everything that she was, feeling as if she was being lifted up into the air. It made her head spin, and when he said "I am looking for a new bride" she almost said yes...almost. Her brain screamed for her to say "YES, YES!!" and to live with this beautiful man all her life, but her heart...her heart whispered to her. Her brother, her father, all her ancestors were depending on her survival.  
  
Even with all these pesky feelings, Anna could not help but feel relieved as she danced with the devil that night. For the first time in her entire existence, she felt peace. Dracula, the undead, the vampire, was the enemy that her family had fought for over 400 years, was the epitome of evil, and yet as he bent her over for a low dip, she felt comfortable in his arms.  
  
No! Anna screamed inside her skull, No! I must not give in to him. He is the murderer of thousands, including my family.  
  
She almost fell totally into his spell, his charm, and then suddenly, the feeling of being lifted off her feet became more real as Van Helsing, the Order's secret, supernatural assassin swooped down from the ceiling and snatched her from the demon's clutches.  
  
Even as these thoughts entered her mind, and the "other" man swept her off her feet, Van Helsing, she couldn't help but remember the cool, heartless embrace that her heart was telling her to forget and to hate.  
  
No, Dracula would be something forever off-limits to her, the last of the Romanian Gypsy Royals, something that she would not, could not let herself indulge in.  
  
As she looked back to him there, standing, waiting for his followers to pursue them, she saw a look in his eyes that meant more than the universe, and then nothing at all at the same time; just a flicker behind his cruel eyes as she started to run for the great window from which they, Van Helsing and herself, would leap.  
  
What could it mean?? She asked herself as she was thrown through the window and into the moat that lay below. What could it mean??  
  
AN: I hope you like it, I was unable to write save for a few minutes when I got home from school today, so excuse the shortness. If you like it, review, and Ill consider writing more. I am hoping to add a nice lemon scene later on, for those of you that like that, but I need input, so give me your ideas. Thanks  
  
LilacsKissGoodbye 


	2. Contemplation

A few weeks after her confrontation with Dracula, Anna crouched, contemplating the life that she had lived for so long. The thought that one meeting with the enemy had made her question her very life made her skin crawl, but it happened.  
  
Every battle had been the same. The brides would swoop down and wreak havoc on the countryside, leaving the townspeople broken spirited and bleeding in the streets, trying to gather up their lives, Dracula sitting in whatever fortress he occupied that night, waiting for his lovely brides to return, fully fed to worship him, and Anna helping whatever needed help, vowing to kill Dracula. It all seemed so pointless after all the years.  
  
Life was beginning to seem so mundane to Anna. The battles with Dracula happening as often as the sun sunk into the horizon, each time with nothing to show for it...it was just becoming too much for her to bear. She was still young, and yet, she faced death every waking moment. It had begun to be a promise, a comforting promise rather than a foreboding, imminent fear. The thought of slipping to cool darkness, never having to care about the "family legacy" again was so alluring that she had contemplated ending her life before, after extremely bloody and harsh battles with Dracula.  
  
This time, as she thought about death, it was not the cool, peaceful nothingness she had come to know it by – no, this time, it went beyond that, into a feeling of security and wholeness; the same feeling that she had had on the dance floor with Dracula.  
  
Indeed, after a brief moment of contemplation, she could no longer discern which would be more welcome, killing Dracula and ridding her family of it's curse, killing herself and thus being free, or joining Dracula, the beautiful creature that had haunted her thoughts...  
  
Since laying her eyes on him the first time as a small child, when he had entered her bedroom intent on killing her mother and father, she had thought him fascinating with his long, dark hair pulled up into a high ponytail, strands falling across his eyes which had seemed so cruel, he had been as lovely as he was evil.  
  
Fifteen years had not changed that feeling, and when he had told her that his heart had only to be rekindled as he dipped her low and ran his long, artistically tapered hands up her body to her throat, she could do nothing but allow that feeling to grow into something that became physical as well as emotional.  
  
{Perhaps it was his "charm" from the previous night that makes me feel the way I do, but I don't believe I can go back to being what I was...} she thought to herself as shivers ran up her spine.  
  
Her thoughts were rudely cut short as she gazed into Aleera's mocking face.  
  
"Hello, Princess..." she said as she punched her with all her inhuman strength could muster.  
  
Soon, the two of them were rising toward the castle that housed the being of Anna's thoughts.  
  
Soon, Anna would be face to face with her most fearsome enemy and greatest object of lust, and the choice that she had been debating over would be made. 


	3. A Bloody Reminiscence and Future

AN: I don't own Dracula, Anna or any of the original characters. (though I wish I did wink wink   
  
The ebony abyss of her mind enveloped her as she dreamed of heaven, her family and the monster that would ensnare her within the night. Things that she would not remember in the morning flooded her vision as things that she shouldn't have ever seen came forward in her unconscious state. Pictures of bloody battlefields ripe with the carnage of the afternoon, impaled bodies in a beautiful, lush courtyard horrified and excited her. She did not understand that the dreams were not hers until she woke with a start as a sword was thrust into "her" body and she came face to face with a raven- haired, blue-eyed portrait of masculine beauty...Dracula.  
  
The bed that she was laying on was plush, and so the dead ache in her joints and muscles had diminished somewhat, however, she was unable to raise her head enough in order to defend herself from her vicious enemy. {Damnit. I am done for if he tries anything now...I can hardly move...} she thought as Dracula leaned in closer, watching her as she went over every possible maneuver in her head.  
  
"Hello, Anna," he said, with his richly accented voice that seemed to creep along her skin raising feelings of both desire and fear at the same time. "I have been waiting for you to come back to me. I was hoping that you would do so on your own, but as that obviously did not happen, I resorted to more...forceful means of attaining you."  
  
"What do you want with me, Satan's Spawn??" Anna asked, practically spitting the words into Dracula's face.  
  
"Anna...Please, I am not Satanic. I am not even close. My name, if you did not know is Vladislaus Dracula, and as you are a...guest...in my house, I would ask that you call me that instead."  
  
"Never." She spit out, the look of disgust and hate filling her eyes to the brim.  
  
"As you wish..." Replied Dracula, each syllable cut short to show the anger that he felt within.  
  
Anna, as she lay prone, was not able to defend herself from the physical power of Dracula's force as he grabbed her and flung her against the stone wall of the bedroom, her head hitting with a dull –smack-. Blurred areas and black spots invaded her eyesight as her already damaged skull was practically split open.  
  
As she lay there, Dracula came close, crouched down, and, having grabbed her by her hair, said into her ear with unnerving calmness, "I will have you, Anna. Whether it be by your own free will or by my force, I will have you as my bride." With that, he kissed her harshly before he flicked her head backward once more, connecting it with the stone. Anna was unconscious as soon as her limp form slumped to the ground.  
  
AN: I hope you like it, I want this plotline to last for a while, so I am making the chapters short. Oh, I have some bad news as well – I am leaving on Sunday for a 6 week job, and I don't know how I am going to be able to get my writing done. For sure, it will be at least a week between updates, but shrug there really isn't anything that I can do about the whole situation...  
  
Okay, and thank you to those of you that have reviewed. I really have appreciated it. 


	4. An Icy Woman

AN : I do not own any original Van Helsing Characters!!

Sorry this took so long to update, I didn't get any time at camp to update this, which I thought was odd, but I am back now, and I shall update as much as I can (without blowing myself apart). So...IM BACK!!

Lilacskissgoodbye

The first glimpses of light that came to Anna were blinding. For the second time that day...or was it night? She had been beaten until unconsciousness. _This time_, however, she noted painfully, _I am not on the comfortable bed. _

Anna gingerly picked herself up and with the most agonizing headache imaginable, she crawled slowly to the bed where she lay down, staring at the now-depleted fire.

I wonder what time it is...and if Dracula is still here... she thought bleakly.

Gathering all the strength that her afflicted limbs could muster, she picked herself up once more and set about exploring the castle. The possibility of escape was still prevalent in her mind, pushing back the darker desire that had haunted her footsteps for weeks.

Would it indeed be better to escape?

Through the musty, dirty, cob-web-filled passage ways she wandered, each staircase and ornate doorway running together with the previous to form a stone and steel blur in her mind.

As she was about to try to find her way back to the room in which Dracula had left her, she saw another door, most unlike the others in design.

It rose, huge, to the vaulted ceiling, and the ornate carving seemed as if it was straight out of Michelangelo's ideas for the Sistine Chapel with Cherubim and Seraphim praising God with mouths open in song and small instruments in hand. Earth came next on this door, with the human race strewn between animals, pitiful expressions on all of their faces, but half were looking upwards to God, half looking downwards towards the next level. Hell in all it's horrible glory. Human bodies with scaled wings and animal heads danced around flames in the background, their leader on a fixated throne in the middle. Satan himself, though, was not the creature on the throne. It was Dracula himself.

Anna let out an audible gasp, filled with terror to the brim of her being, but she knew that she could not turn back now. Checking the slim windows created in the stone turrets of the castle for sunlight left and finding that she had a few hours until the sun sunk beneath the horizon, she decided to see what was behind the horrible door.

Soundlessly, the door opened, though it took of all Anna's subdued strength to do so. What she saw before her caught the breath in her throat. While the door frightened her and caused her to turn away and run for her very life, the sight before her created such a startling contrast that she almost wept with the sheer beauty of it.

Icicles hung from the ceiling and when the light from the skylight at the top of the turret cascaded in, rainbow-colored prisms glittered around the room. In the center, a very old statue of a beautiful woman stood, child in arms, stony tears softly caressing her weathered cheek.

Anna fell down upon the floor suddenly, remembering her own mother, now dead, and her own fresh tears welled up in her eyes. The thoughts of her childhood, safe and innocent in her mother's arms enveloped her as she sat upon that forever-icy floor. Hours passed that she did not recognize, and she could not even back away, so exhausted from her own sobs as strong arms closed about her and lifted her up like a child, cradling her against a lean but well-muscled chest.

...you have no heartbeat... She thought as she slipped into comfortable slumber.

Hey, sorry this was so late in coming, but I have it up. I know its not as...descriptive (?) as my other chapters, but I am writing it as I take Defensive Driving for a ticket, so I hope you all understand. Well, Ill see you next time!!

Thanks for reviewing!!

Lilacskissgoodbye


	5. The stars yield many surprises

AN: Hey everyone, I am sooooo bad about not updating. Smacks self on hand BAD WRITER! Oh well, I hope you all like this new chapter.

I don't own anything from Van Helsing.

Lilacskissgoodbye

The scent of roses faintly wafted in front of Anna's nose as she woke to find herself still in the arms of the being who carried her back to her quarters. Though he was sitting upright against the headboard of the ornate bed, cradling Anna, he seemed to be sound asleep.

_I wonder how long he has been here holding me…_Anna thought to herself as she gazed up into his face. It was now that the fearsome creature, Dracula, the bane of the Valerious clan, with bangs falling across his softly closed eyes, seemed more human than herself sometimes as she gazed into the mirror. Such pain she saw…hundreds of years of lonliness and death. Slowly, and with a peaceful smile on his face, he opened his eyes, and she was frozen, much like the woman in the turret. The purity of the look that she just saw was swept away by a much more cunning and lecherous, deep-rooted gaze that melted her insides and planted a seed of fear in her stomach all at the same time.

"Good evening…" said that longhaired, beautiful demon said has he lazily stared down at her, his beautiful accent lilting through the air around her head like miniature song notes.

_Oh, dear God_, Anna thought as she listened and became entranced in those two words, _he is captivating me more and more with each passing moment together. _

The soul-searching look lingered on for a few more seconds before interrupted by a squat little figure shuffling in with a tray of hot tea, bread and cheese in his hands.

"I do apologize for the lack of sophisticated…food, however, as I am sure you are aware, we have no need of it here," he taunted with a smirk on his face, more playful than anything malicious.

Anna just nodded dumbly and immediately started to devour the food set down in front of her, most unlady-like, and Dracula, getting off the bed and courteously bowing, left the room to allow her a few hours alone to herself.

_How can the demon be both black and white? Is there a gray area between the two that could describe the creature that my family has hated for centuries? Is there some way to bridge the gap between the man that he was and the horrible monster that he is now? _Anna thought as she looked out the window, having finished her meager meal. _The stars really are beautiful. _

She chuckled as she thought of all the time that she had spent, away from the light of day in pursuit of Dracula. Would it really be that different if I were bound to the night? Would I miss the sun and the clouds?

The thoughts carried her far, far away, and she didn't hear the large, oak door as it creaked open to allow the cunningly gorgeous master of the castle enter and walk up behind her. When he finally put an arm around her waist and turned her so that she was facing him, she noticed his presence. Nothing, however could have readied her for what happened next; his lips brushed her with more passion and heat than she could bear…

AN: Sorry, but its 10:30, and while I wanted to update tonight, I don't think I can go on any longer, so you are going to get a cliffhanger…kind of this time. I do apologize once again for the time in between updates, but I have had NO time, whatsoever in my life. Between vacationing with the family and school, I have been unable to spend time on the computer. I do hope you all forgive me and will return to my story.

Thank you for the reviews. I appreciate them and I love to read them, even if I don't reply, they are all extremely appreciated.

Lilacskissgoodbye


	6. Under the Moon

AN: I do not own Van Helsing or any of it's characters.

His well-muscled hand cupped her cheek as his lips burned into hers with an intensity that her mind could not fathom, his tongue exploring her mouth, seeming as if it was trying to drink her soul.

_No, musn't think like that. _She thought as the image of her soul being retched from her body and into this creature's hands seared her skull. _That's dangerous to be thinking like that._

What astonished her more than anything was that she slowly, but surely found herself kissing him back with the same abandon, her lips eating hungrily at his, wanting and hoping that the moment would not end.

Vladislaus ran his long fingers through her hair, playing with the small, curling strands at the base of her neck, reveling in the feeling of the softness of them. Anna made small noises against his mouth, and he pulled away slowly, proud of his ability to seduce his enemy-turned-hostage, loving the fact that _he _had elicited the small noises from the back of her throat. His heightened senses picked up a new flavor coming from the woman, and from the way her heart beat had sped up he could only assume that it he had, in fact, aroused the _dangerous_ Anna Valerious, the bane of his existence. The feeling of triumph spread through his body with an almost audible tingle as he tried to suppress his feelings of elation.

Both Anna and Dracula, lost in each other's embrace did not notice the door to the lofty tower bedroom being opened by Verona, who was staring daggers into both of them. With a screech, she launched out of the window closest to the door and into the air, Aleera and Marishka following behind.

"With that, my dear, I must take my leave of you. I am afraid that while they are selfish and demanding, my wives do have their purposes, and so I must try to placate them." Dracula said, with a bit of sneer in his voice as he spoke of the three females. He looked out the window, watching them soar away into the night, turned back to Anna and gave her a light kiss on the forehead, hoping that the moment was not lost forever.

Dracula turned on his heel and leaped through the window that the female had just left through. In a matter of moments, Anna was left alone and could hear distant, harsh fighting.

How can I be feeling this way about him? The monster that created this damned curse. I should burn in hell for the betrayal of my family. I most likely will join him in hell…I am doomed.

Anna lay back onto the lush bed and fell into a dreamless sleep, wishing silently before her eyes closed that she would see him, her hellish temptation once more.

The next day came and went while Anna slept peacefully on. When she awoke, she could barely see the magentas and oranges of the sunset as the Carpathian Mountains were bathed in a cruel and foreboding light that signaled another night of torture.

As if on cue, a knock came at her door, and in walked the creature that she had just made references to in her mind.

With a bow and a smirk, Dracula questioned in his most courtly manner, "Would you like to join me for a walk down the bank of the small lake we have behind the castle? The moon is gorgeous tonight."

_If I say yes, he will think that I am willing to go along with his game. If I say no, he might become angry and try to beat me once more…I do not understand the choices that I have. They do not seem very promising at all, _Anna thought as she weighed her options.

At last, with a sigh of resignation, she said "I will join you, tonight. I only ask one thing."

"What is that? Like I am sure you know, you have but to ask and (besides letting you go) it shall be yours."

"After I walk with you tonight, I want to be able to choose whether or not I spend any more time with you. If I find this evening enjoyable, I will feel more inclined to spend time with you, and if I do not, then I simply want your word of honor that you will leave me alone. As I am but your prisoner here, even against your insistence, I will not be treated as some common whore. I am a princess, and you will by God treat me as one."

"I cannot fulfill your entire promise but I can say that if you do not find tonight enjoyable, then I will leave you alone for the remainder of _this evening, _nothing more. I will not just allow you to say that you will _never _see me again, because, as I said, I will have you as one of my brides. You are a princess, just as I am a prince. As I sold my soul to the "Satan" you speak of, you really have no ground with calling upon your "God." He spat. "Now, shall we?" Dracula coolly replied as he offered his arm to the young Valerious and together they walked out of the turret and towards the frozen pond.

_The nights here really are magnificent _Anna thought to herself as she was being led effortlessly along a moonlit path through a garden which bordered a calm and reflective pond.

"What are you thinking about so intently, if _your highness, _you do not mind the intrusion" Dracula asked, every word oozing sarcasm.

"Actually, I do mind." She replied coolly, keeping an aire of mystique about her.

A leering voice came through the trees, sending chills down Anna's spine. "How dare _you, _filthy human that you are, talk to him in such a disrespectful manner. Vladislaus, how can you abide her screeching and unrefined voice?"

"I can, Aleera, because I wish to. Just the same, I wish for _you_ to leave. At once."

"In all the years I have served you, loved you, you have never spoken to me thus. I think the human is making you weak."

_What in the world was Aleera talking about? _Anna wondered as she thought of what the implications of those few sentences could mean. _Does he actually care about something? About me?…Would I be able to say 'no' if he did?_

Anna was so wrapped up into her thoughts that she missed Aleera's fist come crashing into Dracula's oh-so-high cheekbones, knocking him unconscious.

"Weaker than I thought. Pitiful." She sneered and then turned to Anna, "You cannot have him, you know. By the time he wakes up, which should be in a couple of minutes, you will be long gone, dead."

With that, Anna felt something hard slam into the side of her head before black enveloped her.

I hope you all liked it. I am sorry for the long wait, but I tried to make this one longer than usual, so I really hope you all like the longer chapter. Anyways, Ill be seein' yas around.

Lilacskissgoodbye


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